"You have a super interesting profession ", "you don't go hungry at work" ""Oooh, but I envy this job, you can try so many things", "family is fine with you because you probably cook all the time" - these and other statements are standard in my life.
Many of my friends and people I know associate the profession of cooking with scenes from various movies or cooking programs. It's not always as colorful as in the movies. The cook's profession is one of the few professions where such terms as "full - time", "vacation", and "normalized working hours" are rarely found. I remember those times when even an employment contract was heavy, let alone an employment contract. But, despite such bad sides, it is also one of the coolest professions, and I do not regret that I went down this path.
During my working life, I have met many very good chefs, cooks, confectioners, but also those whose exploits I would like to forget. I always divided them into those who had the quality set as the main goal, and those who said "that" it will be somehow".
I was always drawn to the former, and I tried to make sure that my work was of the highest quality. And the point is not only to use mega expensive products and serve them to guests, but also in general in cooking and organization of work. Because what will the kitchen be like, where they serve Lobster with caviar, where it is removed from time to time?
Success in gastronomy is not just about cooking. There are so many qualities and skills that you should have in order to treat chefs with respect.
I think you should start with passion and commitment, because without that, I don't see a future in this field. It is these two things that push you to constantly improve, learn, experiment with new dishes, products, and techniques. It is thanks to them that we can strive for perfection.
Another very important aspect that makes it easier to get started in this industry is relevant education. Yes, I know many chefs who just loved cooking and started doing it professionally. However, I believe that a good catering school can build a solid foundation in product research, culinary techniques, or management. I know from my own experience that the greatest number of skills are acquired during practice. The experience gained in working in a variety of cuisines, from small restaurants to hotels, allows you to broaden your horizons and learn how to cook and find in a variety of settings.
The best chefs do not limit themselves to reproducing traditional recipes, but interpret and modify them in their own way. Creativity in the kitchen is one of the most important qualities. Of course, you can be an excellent chef, preparing the traditional cuisine of the country. However, we live in a time when there is no place for boredom and stamp on the menu. In order to encourage visitors, restaurants excel at inventing ever more interesting dishes or desserts-creative chefs have the opportunity to adapt to changing trends and customer needs. A good example was lockdowns, where chefs often had to change their menu to fit in with the supply, or they even redesigned their dishes so that the consumer received the entire set of products with cooking instructions in the form of a movie.
We move on to the characteristics that I think are the ones that the guests don't notice. We are talking about organization of work and team management. The kitchen is a place where chaos can reign at any moment. Good chefs are masters of organization, planning, and logistics. Guests usually don't see what's going on in the kitchen. The chef is like a conductor. He needs to know at what point, a particular chef needs to perform the appropriate action, so that the whole kitchen plays the best violin. Dishes very often consist of several elements, which take a very different amount of time to prepare. If one of the cooks starts frying the steak too late and the other reheats the side dishes too early, this will cause a kind of jam in the delivery of dishes, and guests will have to wait longer, or, for example, the side dishes will be overcooked, which will lead to loss of food. Each order in the chef's head is analyzed and placed in the correct modes to make it work. This takes years to learn.
A good organization is also an order in the kitchen. I remember my internship in Copenhagen, where I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the kitchen. We cleaned it 2 times a day-after lunch and after dinner. It was worth having waterproof shoes, because it wasn't the usual sweeping and wiping of countertops-it was cleaning on a flash for 14 people... after such cleaning, the boss came and checked that we all remembered. I was very impressed with this, because I know how convenient it is to work in a clean kitchen. Unfortunately, I know many chefs who don't care …
One of the last but not least important qualities is perseverance. Let's not kid ourselves, it's not an easy profession. I had to work 300 hours a month because someone screwed up, quit, or stopped showing up for work. Forget about weekends, holidays, or extra-long vacations. Of course, it all depends on the place of work. However, as a rule, restaurants are open at a time when people from other industries are on vacation. Added to this are aspects such as the pace, stressful atmosphere, or high temperatures. Some restaurants have air conditioning. And even if they have it, it still doesn't do anything. It happened that when working in a hot kitchen, I stayed for 12-14 hours at temperatures reaching 40-45 degrees.
To succeed as a chef requires a lot of hard work and a constant desire to improve. An excellent chef, in addition to what I have listed, must also be a handyman, psychologist, mentor, mathematician and, above all, a good person who listens to his subordinates.
Junior specialist in Marketing Communications and PR.
He is a graduate of the University of Warsaw and the Main School of Agriculture. We have been in the HoReCa industry for more than 10 years. For many years, he has been associated with the Trip group, Sobienie Royal Golf and Country Club, and the Florentin Restaurant in Warsaw.
She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw Technical University with a degree in Architecture for the Knowledge Society and Visual Communications at the Polytechnic University of Milan. A specialist in creating a mood. She has gained experience at home and abroad at numerous international seminars (Seville, Lisbon, Florence), fellowships at La Sapienza (Rome), etc. m.in. in Carmi e Ubertis and ADM Milano.
A manager with many years of experience in the cosmetics, food, and children's industries. During his career, he was associated with such companies as: L'Oreal, Samsung, Danone-Nutricia, Unilever. During his professional life, he was responsible, among other things, for the development of e-commerce sales and content in Poland and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. 
